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Cutting Sheer Clamp Bevels

The Mill Creek designs require bevels where the sheer clamps meet at bow and stern. Here's an easy way to mark and cut them. First wire the side panels together and spread the hull to its proper beam. Trim off the sheer clamps flush to the side panels. Now run a stringline from the outside corner of each sheer clamp to the same corner at the other end of the boat (see sketch). Mark the sheer clamp along this line. With a handsaw cut along the line you marked. Be sure the cut follows the edge of the side panel along the bow and stern. Cut the other sheer clamp in the same manner and squeeze them together as a trial fit. Just few strokes with your block plane or a sanding block should be needed for a perfect joint.

 Now that you've cut your bevels, drive a screw through the two sheer clamps. This will prevent them from shifting and throwing the hull out of alignment. When you're ready to glue the ends of the boat, pull the screw out, make the epoxy fillet, cover with fiberglass tape, and then re-insert the screw into its original hole to re-align the panels and hold them together until the epoxy cures. Remove the scew and fill the hole with a dab of epoxy; the screw hole will be hidden behind the rubrail.